In general, color images to be obtained by photographic processing of silver halide color photographic materials are composed of azomethine dyes or indoaniline dyes to be formed by reaction of oxidation products of aromatic primary amine developing agents and couplers.
To obtain color photographic images with good color reproducibility, needed are clear dyes having a small side absorption. Dyes to be formed from 5-pyrazolone magenta couplers which are popularly used for forming magenta dyes have a side absorption at about 430 nm in addition to its main absorption at about 550 nm, and therefore such couplers are not favorable in view of their color reproducibility. In order to overcome the problem, various studies have heretofore been made.
For instance, dyes to be formed from pyrazoloazole magenta couplers described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,061,432 and 4,500,630 have a much more reduced side absorption at about 430 nm than those to be formed from 5-pyrazolone magenta couplers. Therefore, the former couplers are preferred in view of their color reproducibility. In addition, they have another advantage in that they cause noticeably reduced yellow stains (hereinafter referred to as Y-stains) in the non-colored white background area under heat and moisture.
However, even the above-mentioned couplers capable of forming dyes having a small side absorption are still unsatisfactory because of the following two drawbacks which are desired to be overcome. The first is that the light fastness in the colored area having a low density is extremely inferior to that in the colored area having a high density; and the second is that they often cause Y-stains in the non-exposed white background area in light. In this way, if the fading rate differs between the low density area and the high density area and if Y-stains are formed in the non-exposed area, the commercial value of the photographic materials containing them is noticeably lowered. In particular, photographic pictures are stored under various conditions these days. For instance, some are stored for display. Therefore, it is strongly desired to obtain fast color images which do not have Y-stains even when exposed to light and which are fast everywhere irrespective of their color densities.
As one means for preventing the formation of Y-stains in light, for example, there has been proposed the use of bisphenols in JP-A 52-7222 (the term "JP-A" as used herein means an "unexamined published Japanese patent application"). They are surely effective for 3-anilino-5-pyrazolone magenta couplers. However, when they are applied to the above-mentioned pyrazolotriazole magenta couplers, they do not have the Y-stain inhibiting effect but, on the contrary, some of them increase Y-stains.
The present inventors have noted that when 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzotriazole compounds or benzophenone compounds known as ultraviolet absorbents are added to interlayers and silver halide emulsion layers positioned upper than magenta coupler-containing layers, then the light fastness of the colored area having a low density is improved and the formation of Y-stains is inhibited to some degree due to the UV-cutting effect of the compound(s) added. However, even though the amount of the compounds to be added is increased, their effect obtained is limited.